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July 18, 2013 -- The Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA) is critical of recent payment changes proposed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

MITA said that the proposed changes to the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) will limit patient access to CT and MRI services. In CMS' proposed rule for 2014, using separate cost centers for CT and MR could result in reimbursement cuts of as much as 38% for CT and 19% for MRI.

"CMS' proposal to calculate costs using separate cost centers for CT and MR poses a severe threat to patient access to lifesaving advanced medical imaging technologies," said Gail Rodriguez, MITA executive director, in a statement. "Because these imaging cost centers do not accurately capture the total costs of providing CT and MRI services, this proposal will undervalue the costs of these vital services and lead to substantial Medicare reimbursement cuts for these imaging modalities in the hospital setting."